The Show Must Go On
by SecretChances
Summary: Another hero, another mindless crime behind the curtain. In the pantomime…heartbreak, another failed romance…the show must go on! Smitchie, Nate/OC, Jason/Tess CHAPTER 7 UP!
1. The Boys of Summer

_**Disclaimer:** uh yeah, disney owns camp rock and well probably the Jonas Brothers. I own Sabrina and an ass load of CDs. That's about it. So please, don't sue me. Thanks!_

**A/N: **I have character spots and a trailer for this fanfiction up on youtube. :D My name on there is HoratioCaineFan, look me up. I like the character spots but the trailer needs a little work. lol. it was my first one and I wasn't quite sure how to do it but I guess I managed.

_**Rating:** Well, if this was on tv I have no doubt it would end up being TV-14 which is a stretch for Disney. So I'm making it T for mature thematic content, brief sensuality, language, sexual references including humor, and some disturbing images. whew. that's a lot._

_All right, before I start, I just wanted to say a humongous thank you to 0TwistedAngel0 my lovely beta. Without her, I'm not sure this story would even life. Thank you soooooo much Krys!  
_

_And onto the show!_

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**Prologue**

There was one motto that the boys of Connect 3 always abided by. It was something Nate came up with the first year they were together. "The show must go on." Even when Shane was grounded at Camp Rock, the show _did_ go on; it just went on with out him. Songs were written, guitars were played, and phone calls had resulted. In the midst of falling for Mitchie, Shane Gray followed his brother's advice even when everything fell apart and he found out that Mitchie had lied to him. It had torn him up but songs came out of it and Nate was happy.

The weeks and months following Camp Rock were hectic. The tour resumed and it felt to the boys that it was just one stop after another. It was the same crowd in the same city over and over again, but—faithful to friends and family—the show went on. Curtains rose, mikes were held, and Jason _still_ went on about the fact he didn't have a bird house.

After the tour ended, they figured they would come up with another motto, one that wasn't so intense. Nate objected but eventually gave in.

Little did they know that by the end of the year, "the show must go on" would mean more to them than it ever had before.

**Chapter 1: Boys of Summer**

"Call me if you need anything, honey."

"Mom," she put a reassuring hand on the older woman's shoulder. "I'll be fine."

Connie Torres nodded and dabbed her eyes with the tissue she was holding in her left hand. Mitchie Torres just grinned and shook her head. It was nearing the end of November and Mitchie's heart was pounding so loud that she could hear it in her ears. She was so excited she missed a tearful exchange between her mother and Steve, her father. She had been invited to spend the holidays with Shane Gray and everything since then had been a blur. She had been running all over the place packing, convincing her parents into letting her go, and calling Shane non-stop to make sure that meeting times were on schedule. She didn't want to be standing alone in a crowded airport- a thought that made her mother extremely nervous.

Two weeks and a huge phone bill later, she was standing in JFK International Airport with her carry on slung over her shoulder with her mother, a blubbering idiot at the moment, and father in front of her. Nervous jitters coursed through her body but she just stared at her parents and smiled. She knew the nervousness was from the flight that loomed ahead of her. She was what Jason Black, the guitarist for Connect 3, had so lovingly called a "flight virgin". She'd never been thirty thousand feet in the air before and it scared her just a little.

She looked down and checked her watch. 8:15. She took a deep breath; in ten minutes she would be boarding. Voices inside her head began screaming and doing happy dances while her mom continued to sob hysterically. She shook her head again.

"Do you have your boarding pass?" Her dad asked when he realized the time.

Mitch pulled the small, folded, piece of paper out of her pocket and waved it in the air happily.

"Dramamine just in case?" Her mom squelched from Steve's shoulder.

"Mom, I'm fine!" she exclaimed. "I don't need it but yes, I have it." She patted the brown carry-on lovingly.

Connie gasped and tackled her daughter with a hug. "I'm going to miss you so much!" she exclaimed dragging out the vowel on 'so'.

"Oh," Mitchie laughed. "I'll miss you too." They backed away from each other. "Okay, so I'm arriving at eleven thirty California time. Shane, Nate, and Jason are going to be there an hour early waiting for me. I will be staying with Nate and Shane and their parents and I will be returning January seventeenth."

"Sounds like a plan, sweet cakes."

"Dad," she whined. "Save the nicknames please. "

"But honey," Connie said putting her hands on her daughter's shoulders, "We won't be able to call you that for two months!"

"Uh, Mom, I have a cell phone and the time difference isn't _that_ bad. I'll just call before you guys go to bed."

Steve opened his mouth to say something when the intercom crackled on and announced that Mitchie's flight was boarding. She said her goodbye's quickly as the line to the gate got longer. Connie and Steve stood near the windows looking out to the tarmac, waving like they were sending their little girl off to some foreign land instead of only four thousand miles away to California.

Mitchie gave her ticket to the attendant who scanned it and ushered her in with an artificial smile and a required, "Thank you for choosing to fly Northwest. Please enjoy your flight."

She nodded and waved before she disappeared through the gate.

She awoke with a start to the pilot announcing they were due to land once the air traffic cleared up a bit. She yawned rather loudly garnering stares from her row buddies. She quietly apologized and threw open the window shade she had closed hours before. She blinked as her eyes were assaulted by the brilliant sunlight. She grinned. No cold winds, no threat of snow, no parents, no school-she was in heaven. Sighing again, she reached down under the chair in front of her and pulled out her carry-on bag. It was one of her most prized possessions and the brown leather had worn in places but she didn't care. She called it her "lucky pack". She had stuffed just about everything but the kitchen sink into that little carry-on and she was damn proud of it.

She rummaged around for a few seconds before she found her boarding pass and her luggage claim ticket. She pulled them out triumphantly as the pilot announced they were landing. She quickly put her carry-on back under the seat before an attendant could yell at her. She stretched out languidly then sat back into her chair for the landing process. She was queasy as she had been on take off but once the wheels hit the ground the butterflies gave way to excitement.

Once the plane eased to a stop and a majority of the passengers were off, she stood, grabbed her bag and walked into the airport barely able to contain her anticipation. Somewhere in the crowded LAX terminal there was a super hot rock star just waiting for her. She grinned. _Pop star, _she thought to herself. She always teased him on that little area of his life.

The phone in her pocket suddenly weighed heavily on her brain but she didn't think she could call her parents at that moment of time. She was too…jumpy and out of it with—for lack of a better word—excitement.

She walked through the terminal with ease until she spotted a small welcoming party waving around signs that read "I heart Mitchie T!" and "Mitchie T. This is Me!" She fought away the blush that threatened to paint her cheeks a bright red.

"Mitchie! We love you!"

She groaned. Leave it to Jason to embarrass her even more—in a public place no less!

She approached the trio and lifted an eyebrow in a questioning gesture. "Was this really necessary?"

Shane Gray shrugged his shoulders and pulled her into a hug. "Got your attention didn't it?"

"Of course it did!" Jason smacked her lightly on the back. "Hey, you like the birdhouse I drew?"

He pointed to the corner of the "Mitchie T. This is Me" poster and grinned the goofy grin that separated him from his band mates. She laughed. "Looks good, Jay,"

She glanced past Jason and Shane's shoulder and saw the curly brown head of Nate Gray. She wiggled out of Shane's tight grasp and walked up to the quietest member of the band. He smiled. He appeared different without the skinny jeans, converse shoes, and button down shirt and tie. He actually looked really good in the baggy—but no doubt designer—jeans and t-shirt he was currently wearing.

"Come here, you." Mitchie placed a hand on the back of his neck and pulled him into a brief friendly hug. "How're you doing Nate?"

"He's mad."

Mitch backed away from Nate and looked at Shane. "Why?"

"I'm _not_ mad!"

Shane cracked an expression that said, "Yeah, sure."

He threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. "I promise I'm _not mad_."

"We didn't believe you the first hundred times you said that." Jason beamed.

She looked at Jason. "Why is he mad?" she asked again.

"Jason invited Tess to this little shindig."

"Tess?" She whirled around to Nate then back to Jason. "Tess _Tyler_?"

"One in the same," Shane replied with a smile.

She turned back to Nate again. "And you're mad about this?" Mitchie inquired with a smirk.

"I'm not-" he sighed. "Never mind."

Mitch shook her head, walked over to the oldest band mate and clapped her hand on his shoulder. "So, umm, how long have you liked her?"

Nate and Shane laughed and they began their journey to the baggage claim. After a few minutes, Jason and Nate began arguing over the "Tess Tyler" situation. Jason wanted to make sure that they all—Nate especially—knew that he did _not_ like Tess. Tess may like him but he did not "return the sentiments". Mitchie and Shane ignored the bickering and walked ahead of them in silence. Shane chuckled quietly at the two behind them and the sound made Mitchie blush. It was a beautiful sound—one that fit him perfectly. It wasn't deep and manly but it wasn't girly either. It was the most amazing baritone chuckle she had ever heard. The thought made her blush even deeper and she didn't realize they had already picked up her bags and were heading towards the entrance of LAX.

"Hey, is your Uncle Brown going to be there?"

Nate smiled. "Yeah, he's here now."

Mitchie stopped. "How long has he been here?"

Jason looked down to check his watch and said, "For about an hour and half. He's in the car."

"You left him in the car?!"

"It was Jason's idea!" Shane exclaimed throwing his hands up in the air.

"Jason?"

"What?"

Mitchie shook her head. "Well we better not keep him waiting."

"Wasn't the plan."

The group laughed again and walked out the front doors. A limo pulled up in front of them followed by more than twenty paparazzi and about a hundred screaming fans.

"Run!"

Through the giggling and the excitement, Nate grabbed Mitchie by the hand—Shane had her bags—and pulled her through the gathering crowd. The limo doors opened and she could hear Brown yelling at her. Nate jumped in first, followed by Mitchie then Jason, then her bags and finally Shane jumped in and slammed the door.

"Step on it, Brown!"

"I'm not the one driving, love."

Looking up, Mitchie noticed that Brown was sitting in front of them and not in the driver's seat like she expected him to be. He grinned and the limo, with them inside it, tore out of the airport drive way with the paps and the fans screaming wildly.


	2. New Divide

_**Disclaimer:** Yeah uh, I own Sabrina and LVaTT. That's it. The Jonas Brothers and Camp Rock are property of Disney. Do you think if I owned them, I would be writing on ? No, I'd be writing this actually _for_ Disney. :D thanks!_

_Everything else you need to know is in the first chapter but I would like to thank 0TwistedAngel0 once again for being an amazing beta! Oh also, check out HoratioCaineFan on youtube for all your _The Show Must Go On_ videos. (yes it's shameless self promotion lol)_

_And now, the show must go on!_

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**Chapter 2: The New Divide**

The scene at the Gray mansion wasn't any different than what it was at the airport. The limo pulled up to the wrought iron gates and the paparazzi were instantly at the windows snapping pictures, the camera bulbs flashing like little bolts of lightning. Mitchie buried her face in the crook of Shane's neck trying to will it all away. She could hear the paps yelling questions but deep down she knew that they couldn't see into the heavily tinted windows. Hence, they couldn't see her. She breathed a sigh of relief.

The gates slid open and she could feel the car start to move. She looked up and the entourage was slowly disappearing behind the brick wall that surrounded the house. She heard the gates clang shut and she automatically stood up and poked her head through the sunroof. She gasped as she looked around at her new surroundings.

Palm trees shot up at both ends of the house and were surrounded by wild flowers of all sorts and colors. It was like she was a princess heading to her dream home in the middle of an enchanted forest. She sniggered. She was acting like a character in those Disney movies she used to watch but she didn't care. The house was gorgeous and it reminded her of an elegant plantation home in the middle of nowhere. It didn't look like somewhere Nate and Shane would live but she knew that it was their parents who had bought the house and not themselves.

They continued up the winding driveway and she heard the boys below her talking once more about Tess Tyler. She rolled her eyes and sat back down between Shane and Nate.

"Seen enough?" Shane whispered.

"I have two months to do some exploring," Mitchie replied.

"You know I think the paparazzi got a pretty good picture of the back of your head."

"They did?" Shane nodded. "Really?" He nodded again. "As long as they don't report that I'm some mistress of yours I'll be okay."

"You'd have a problem with that?"

Mitchie gaped at the comment. "Shane Gray! You're not serious?"

"No I'm not."

"Good."

Shane laughed. His breath tickled the side of her face and she grinned. She snuggled closer to him, the quiet talking between Nate and Jason was buzzing low enough that she could barely hear them. She closed her eyes, the time change getting to her and the speaking lulling her into Never, Never, Land.

"Hey," Shane nudged her softly. "You have to stay awake.

"No, I don't," she mumbled groggily.

"You're going to make me carry _your_ luggage to _your_ room?" She nodded. "What, and make me ruin my new hairdo? I don't think so."

"How is that going to ruin your hair?" Jason asked.

"Humidity."

"What does that have to with anything?" Shane turned to Jason with a flabbergasted expression plastered on his face. "What?"

"Never mind." Shane returned his gaze to Mitchie who was now stretching beside him.

"I'm up and you," she jabbed her finger into his chest, "don't have help me. I'll get it myself."

"Are you sure you can handle it? You might break a nail."

"Tess would be more worried about that than I am."

The limo stopped and before Mitchie could even reach out to open the door; Brown had already opened it and was standing out by the chauffer's window. She took a breath and climbed out with the boys hot on her heels. Once out in the fresh California air, she walked around working her legs that were stiff from sitting for six hours. Mitchie went around to the trunk where Shane, Nate, and Jason were all grabbing the various bags she had brought with her.

After the seven bags were unloaded, she grabbed four of them and left the other three to the boys. She waddled very unsuccessfully halfway to the door when the blonde hair of Tess Tyler twirled by her and she was relieved of two of her bags.

Mitchie was about to ask what she was doing when Tess said, "I may be a bitch but when I see some poor thing fumbling, I do tend to help."

"That thought never crossed my mind, T-Tess," the brunette stuttered quietly.

"Never said it did, M-Mitchie," the blonde mocked then walked in the house.

"She will never change."

"I love her," Jason said airily.

Mitch, Nate, Shane and Brown all turned to stare at their friend.

"What?" He said for the umpteenth time that day.

They all groaned and headed inside the front door of the Gray mansion. Mitchie gasped again as the foyer of the house came into view. A wrought iron staircase spiraled up to a balcony on the second floor which led into various different rooms and hallways. Hanging from the tall ceiling was an elegant, gold chandelier that rivaled the chandelier from the Phantom of the Opera even if it was smaller. She stood in awe for a few seconds until she heard a voice behind her. She turned around and was met face-to-face with the most gorgeous woman she had ever seen. The woman was tall and had long, curly, black hair and deep set brown eyes. Mitchie looked her over and automatically saw that she resembled the boys. She _had_ to be Nate and Shane's mother. The woman smiled and her musings were confirmed. There was no doubt about it now.

Before the woman could say anything, Tess sauntered up with the bags she had taken from Mitchie and dropped them soundly onto the floor. Mitchie jumped and spun around to face the girl she despised. The blonde mocked the brunette in a very childlike manner, turned on her fancy designer high heels and clip clopped off into the kitchen. Mitchie rolled her eyes and returned her gaze to the gorgeous woman in front of her.

"Mitchie?" She nodded. The woman laughed. "It's so good to finally meet you!" She pulled Mitch into a hug. "Shane has not shut up about you since camp!" They pulled apart. "I'm Melinda Gray. I'm Nate and Shane's mother."

A man walked into the foyer from what Mitchie guessed was the kitchen. He wiped off his hands and held one out to her. "I'm Derek Gray. It's a pleasure to finally meet you Mitchie."

She took it and gave it a firm shake while looking the older man over. He looked nothing like Nate or Shane. He had short blonde hair and green eyes and was a tad bit shorter than Mrs. Gray but then she noticed that she was wearing sky scraper heels. He was built like an athlete with broad shoulders and muscular arms. His smile was Nate's smile but other than that, Mitchie saw none of the boys in him.

She blushed letting go of his hand. "Thank you for having me. I would've just came for Christmas-"

"Nonsense," Mrs. Gray cut in. "You're welcome anytime and you can stay as long as you like."

"I don't want to put you guys out."

"Put who out?" Mr. Gray asked. "Mitchie, you're a part of this family. Don't worry about it."

There was an awkward pause between the three then Mrs. Gray said, "I hate to cut the introductions short but lunch is on the stove and I'm sure you'd like to get freshened up." Mitchie nodded quickly. "The guys will show you to your room." Mrs. Gray looked at the pile of bags. "Are you going to be able to handle this by yourself?"

They all nodded and watched as Mr. and Mrs. Gray walked back into the kitchen.

"Let's wait till we eat," Mitchie, Shane, and Nate said simultaneously.

"If you want, love, I can take these up for you." Brown offered, appearing suddenly behind the trio.

"No. It's fine. I wouldn't want to impose."

"I offered." Before Mitchie could protest, he bent down, picked up two of the suitcases, and headed up the stairs to the guest room.

Shane came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. She could've melted. She turned around and stared up into his brown eyes.

"Mitch, relax. We Grays make any guest comfortable. It's a gift of ours."

He struck the most ridiculous, arrogant pose she had ever seen and she giggled. Nate, who was now sitting on the couch in the living room, rolled his eyes and continued to flip through the magazine he clutched in his hands. Mitchie glanced around the large foyer once more, taking in everything she missed the first time. She suddenly had the urge to go check out the rest of the house and the grounds it sat on but the rumbling of her stomach stopped her dead in her tracks. She sighed and plopped down beside Nate. Shane followed close behind and the three of them sat in silence.

After a while, Mitchie could smell the food wafting in from the kitchen. Her stomach growled loudly. She hadn't eaten since before she left and the hunger was now gnawing at her insides. She frowned and pulled her feet up under her. She sighed again and noticed that Jason was no longer in their presence. She looked around quickly but to no avail. Jason was nowhere to be found.

"Hey, where did Jay go?"

Nate sat the magazine on the coffee table. He shrugged then stretched. He abruptly froze mid stretch and shot off the couch. Shane and Mitchie glanced sideways at him then followed his eye line to where he was now staring. Standing on the staircase was a petite, curvy, little creature with chin length light brown hair and green eyes. Mitchie gaped confused while a smile spread across Shane's lips. Jason appeared behind the girl and beamed widely. He leaned in to whisper something in her ear then pushed her along. She ran down the stairs laughing.

"Shane!"

"Brina!"

He launched into a sprint and the two met in the middle of the living room and tackled each other with death grip bear hugs. Mitchie stepped back quietly watching the display with an amused expression. She turned to look at Nate and was startled when she saw the emotions dancing across his usually serene face. Fury burned like fire in his soft brown eyes. Now she was _really_ confused. Who was this girl? How did she know the boys and why was Nate so mad about the fact that she was there? Her head swam and she suddenly felt dizzy but she accounted it to the hunger.

Shane and the girl-Brina, was it?-broke apart in a flurry of giggles and smiles. Jason walked into the room and put an arm around the girl. Tess, hearing the noise from the kitchen, joined them with plates of food balanced on her arms. Mr. and Mrs. Gray came in with food as well and it was soon a great big "family" reunion in the Gray living room. With the plates sat safely on the coffee table, hugs were distributed and laughs were shared. Brown walked in after seeing that the last of Mitchie's bags was safe in her room. Mitchie felt out of place but she was more worried about Nate who was seething in a corner a few feet away from her.

She took a step toward him but was stopped by Shane's hand on her arm. She looked from the girl to where he was standing and back again. He appeared out of no where. She could've sworn he was across the room a few seconds ago.

"Don't bother," Shane said oblivious to the bemused expression written plainly on her face. "He won't listen."

"Why not?" She asked still extremely confused-for lack of a better word.

"Nate and Brina have a…interesting relationship." He paused. "Come on, now's as good a time as any."

He dragged her away from her place against the wall and back to the couch. Everyone else had begun to eat except for Nate who was still backed into the corner he had occupied since Brina had arrived. They sat down in unison, Mitchie beside the petite brunette. Upon her sitting down, the girl stopped her eating and glanced up at her.

Brina straightened up and wiped her hands on the napkin she was holding. "Hi. My name's Sabrina. Sabrina Black. But you can call me Brina or Bri."

"Mitchie Torres." They grasped hands then Mitchie turned away with an awkward grin.

"She's my sister," Jason quipped with his mouth full.

"Really, Jason? Never would've guessed." Shane laughed as he grabbed the plate of food left for him and started to eat.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Mitchie whispered as she, too, picked up her food. Cheese burgers, baked beans and chips never looked so good. She dug in and after a while she said, "I never knew Jason had a sister."

Sabrina nodded. "He keeps me under lock and key." She and Jason shared a smile.

There was silence as everyone continued to eat. A few more minutes passed.

Jason opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by a very curt, "You're not welcome here."

Mouths stopped chewing, forks stopped scraping and all eyes were on the curly haired boy in the corner.

"Nate!" Mrs. Gray exclaimed. "That was uncalled for!"

Sabrina held up her hand to wave off the scolding. "It's okay Mrs. Gray." She turned to Nate. "I apologized. What more do you want?"

Nate said nothing. He clenched his jaw and his eyes narrowed. He walked away from the spot where he had been standing, snatched his plate from the coffee table, and then turned on his heel and stormed out of the living room. A door soon slammed from upstairs and the breath that everyone seemed to be collectively holding expelled with a slight hiss. The eating resumed but the tension in the air could've been cut with a knife.

Mitchie watched the scene unfold slack jawed. She never took quiet, unassuming, Nate as the furious type but the display of emotion she had just witnessed told her that he was quite capable of losing his temper.

Now, her curious side was ready to know what had happened between the two and it wanted to find out at all costs.


	3. You're Not Sorry

_**Disclaimer:** Seriously? You think I own the Jonas Brothers AND Camp Rock? Wow, I'm flattered. Really though, Camp Rock and JB belong to Disney. I just own Sabrina and well...other stuff. :D Like my signed poster from Phantom of the Opera. Cool huh? Woops. Enough babbling. _

_Everything else you need to know is in the first chapter but I would like to thank 0TwistedAngel0 once again for being an amazing beta! She's awesome! _

_Hope you guys enjoy and sorry this took so long. Krys was on vacation and I didn't wanna bother her while she was having fun! I was also at Choir Camp so..._

_Anyways, this chapter is short but chapter 4 will be up soon and it should be longer. Cheers!_

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**Chapter 3: You're Not Sorry**

She looked at her watch. It was two in the afternoon. The girl, who Shane had talked about, Mitchie, had arrived a grand total of two and a half hours ago and Nate _still_ had not come out of his room. Mitchie, being the shy but caring girl she obviously was, had tried unsuccessfully to get him to hang out with her and Shane but he simply stayed holed up in his room, no doubt strumming out songs about how much he hated her. She didn't care though. What more did he want? He never said, so how was she supposed to know? She groaned. He was so_ infuriating_.

She checked her watch again. Shane and Mitchie had gone to explore to grounds and to swim in the indoor heated pool that was somewhere behind the mansion. Jason had gone to their house to grab some clothes. After an extremely long discussion with Melinda and Derek, she and Jason were going to stay with them instead of commuting back and forth. She had protested saying that it was going to be too much and that she would rather sleep in her own bed when in truth she only said that for Nate's well being. Mr. and Mrs. Gray being the people they were told her and Jay that they were staying there whether they wanted to or not. Her parents agreed. So, now she was waiting for her clothes and other personal items to show up so she could go out and have fun. She didn't like it being cooped up and she didn't like that the blonde ice-bitch, Tess, who was annoying her with constant texting and fingernail filing.

She rolled her eyes and got up off the couch. She passed Melinda and Derek and they gave her nods and smiles. They knew where she was heading whether or not she knew it herself. Soon enough, however, she was standing in front of his closed door and she could hear his guitar and his quite singing. She didn't want to be there. Why had her feet taken her to him? She didn't want to see him and she knew he sure as hell didn't even want her within one hundred feet of him. She had an urge to walk away but instead she simply knocked on his door.

The strumming of his guitar stopped. She heard his bed squeak and his foot steps get closer. A shadow fell across the floor in front of her. She took a breath. The door swung open to reveal Nate in all his angry glory. His guitar was clutched tightly in his left hand and the clothes he had been wearing when she arrived were haphazardly tossed on the edge of the bed. He was now wearing a white wife beater and basketball shorts. He glared at her but moved to the side motioning her to come in. She released the breath she had been holding and took a step inside. The door slammed shut and she jumped.

"What do you want?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Can we talk?"

"Sure, Sabrina, let's talk," Nate said the sarcasm apparent in his voice. "But, about what? How you dumped me in a time when you were everything to me?! I needed you and you just left!"

Sabrina cringed. "I'm sorry," she said looking down at the floor.

"You're not sorry."

Her eyes widened in anger. "How do you know what I am and what I'm not? I have apologized so many times-"

"Those were nothing! You didn't mean anything by them!" He raged. "And you _still_ don't!"

"You don't know how I feel, Nate! I feel horrible about what I've done-what I did! I have tried so many times to make you see that I had no choice!"

"Oh, you just _had_ to abandon me? You _should've _fought for me! You should've been there!"

"Nate, you don't understand!" Sabrina's voice cracked. Tears welled in her eyes. "You just, you don't understand," she whispered.

There was a pause and silence cloaked the room. He put his guitar he had been holding back on the stand and walked over to her. She sat down in the chair he had under his writing desk. He kneeled down in front of her. She looked at him with a mystified expression plainly written on her face. He confused her _so_ much. She wasn't sure how he went from angry to caring in such a short span of time, but he pulled it off gracefully.

"I don't want to hurt anymore, Sabrina."

The sincerity grated on her nerves and she shot up from the chair and crossed to the door.

"You can't always get what you want."

She reached for the door knob but he spoke, stopping her in her tracks. "We're _not_ finished yet," he said through clenched teeth.

"Oh yes we are, Nate." Her voice raised an octave. "Just as you said, I don't want to hurt anymore. We don't talk, we argue. I'm tired of arguing!"

Sabrina turned the knob a fraction of an inch then Nate was in front of her. His lips crashed onto hers and he kissed her with a ferocity that made her stumble backwards with shock. She froze but soon found herself a willing participant in the dance their mouths were making. They pulled apart moments later gasping for breath and glaring at each other. Nate moved away from her and sat down on his bed. He scratched the back of his neck then looked up at her. She was leaned against the door, her lips parted in amazement and her chest heaved up and down as her lungs desperately scrambled for oxygen.

"Get out," he fumed but the threat that was in his voice earlier was gone. She could hear the difference.

"I'm sorry."

"No, you're not." He turned away from her and picked up his guitar that had long ago been discarded. He climbed up onto his bed and began strumming, his face devoid of all emotion.

She nodded. The conversation was over. She sighed and spun around to open the door. With one last look at the curly headed boy sitting on the bed, she walked out of his room, down the stairs and out the front door. Melinda and Derek's gaze followed her-they wanted to know what had happened-but she didn't feel like relaying the details. She just felt like getting a little fresh air. She hoped it would help with the image that was now implanted on her brain.

The image of his face, full of wanton need, passion, and forgiveness, would be forever seared in her memory.


	4. The Heart of the Matter

_**Disclaimer:** Nick's my sugar pie honey bunch and we're gonna run away together to california where this story is being made into a movie. I'm world famous and everyone is begging me to play Sabrina. Yeah, this is wonderful....haha I own Sabrina and the plot. Everything else belongs to Disney._ Disney_, enough said. lol_

_So, I thought you guys deserved this chapter earlier than I intended to post it. I know I don't have reviews but I know I have story alerts and such so this is for all of you! Thanks for the reviews those who have reviewed. I appreciate it!_

_Again, a special shout out to 0TwistedAngel0 aka Krys my lovely beta. You rock!_

_And onto the show!_

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Chapter 4: The Heart of the Matter

The Gray house was quiet except for the patter of bare feet on hardwood floor. The rest of the day had passed by uneventfully and a part of Mitchie was grateful. She was exhausted and what little they did that day made her relax and feel comfortable at the strange house she was going to call home for almost two months. She grinned. Two months with Shane. Two months to discover everything and anything she wanted know about him, his brother, and his best friend. Though she dreaded spending two months with Tess, who was unfortunately staying at the mansion along with Brina and Jason, she was excited with the prospects of becoming more acquainted with the pop star she called her boyfriend.

She yawned. She knew full well that she should be in bed considering Jersey time was telling her that it was eleven o'clock and she should've been asleep an hour ago. Despite what her internal clock was telling her, the watch she was wearing said it was eight and she wanted nothing more than to see the California stars. Shane told her to meet him on the roof ten minutes ago but she had still been unpacking and now she was lost. She didn't know how to get to the roof. She would've asked for directions but most of the occupants of the house were occupied with card games, movies, and texting and Mitchie didn't feel like disturbing the peace.

She grinned to herself and passed by an open door. She peered into the room then stopped when she saw Jason and Sabrina sitting together on the bed laughing.

"Knock, knock." She lightly tapped on the door frame.

"Come in," Sabrina said through her giggles. "Oh, hey, Mitchie."

"Hello, Bri." She shuffled her feet and stayed by the door.

"Don't be shy."

"I'm interrupting."

"No, you're not. Jason and I were just talking about—what were we talking about, anyway?" Sabrina turned her gaze away from Mitchie and onto her big brother.

"Marshmallows and cows."

Mitchie raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Marshmallows and _cows_?"

"We're random." Brina shrugged.

"Obviously," the younger brunette chuckled quietly. After a moment she asked, "Would either of you know how to get to the roof?"

Jason's hand shot up in the air and he waved it around. "I do! I do!"

"Great! I was supposed to meet Shane up there but-"

"You got lost?"

"Good job Captain Obvious." Sabrina smiled and shook her head. "Come on, Mitchie. I better show you up there. Jay might get you even more lost."

"I would not!" He protested.

"Yes, you would. I grew up with you remember?"

He cocked his head to one side as if in thought then his face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Oh yeah. You did!"

Mitchie and Sabrina both laughed. Brina jumped off her bed and motioned for Mitchie to follow. They both waved goodbye to Jason and then headed out. They walked in silence for a few moments each at a loss for words. It was the sixteen year old who spoke first.

"So," Mitch let the 'o' drag. "You and Nate?"

Brina laughed. "Me and Nate," she replied. "What do you want to know?"

"Why-"

"Was he angry with me today?" Mitchie nodded. Sabrina sighed, her thoughts wandering to earlier in the day. Her lips tingled at the memory. She shook her head and came out of her reverie. She turned to Mitchie and grinned. "It's a long story."

"Oh," her gaze fell to the floor and they were in silence once again.

"Mitch," the younger girl looked back up. "I-I can't-It's not that I don't want to it's just-" Brina groaned running her fingers through her short brown hair. "I met Nate four years ago at Camp Rock."

"But I thought-"

"Jason didn't go the year I went. So Connect 3 didn't 'connect' until the following year."

"Makes sense," Mitchie whispered.

"Yeah. Anyway, I met Nate and Shane at camp. I was thirteen at the time. Shane was fifteen and Nate was twelve." The younger girl giggled more than likely at the image of a fifteen year Shane. Bri smiled then continued. "Shane took an instant liking to me. We hung out all the time. We even sang a duet together at Beach Jam. At the end of camp, we exchanged phone numbers promising each other to call any time we could.

"After a few months, Nate began calling me as well as Shane. Sometimes we'd be up till after midnight just talking. Nate was sweet and quiet and most of the time he would be in the background just letting Shane and me do the talking. I noticed though that he was the complete opposite of Shane. While Shane is confident, arrogant and a bit random, Nate is serious and work oriented. I liked that about him.

"The next summer, I decided not to go to camp. I had just auditioned for a role on Broadway and had gotten the part. Shane and Nate were both disappointed but I assured them that my brother would be there and they wouldn't have to deal with little old girlie me." She laughed.

"You know that part of the story," Sabrina said as Mitchie nodded. "Well, two years ago, after Connect 3 began their first tour, and more than five thousand phone calls later, Shane became an older, loveable, saner brother. Nate, however, became my first true love. Yeah he was only fourteen and I was only fifteen but there was something about him. He made me…whole. Cheesy, I know, but it's true."

They had stopped walking and were now at another staircase leading up into what looked like a sky light. Mitchie looked at Sabrina then looked at her watch. Shane was probably getting impatient but she really wanted to hear the rest of the story. He could wait. They had spent the whole day together but her and Sabrina had only spent ten minutes together. She seemed interesting and her curiosity _really_ wanted to know what happened between Bri and Nate.

Sabrina saw her check her watch and she knew that her time was up. She breathed a silent sigh of relief. The rest of the story was extremely personal to both her and Nate. She knew Mitchie was a part of the family but it wasn't her place to tell everything.

After a few quiet seconds, Mitchie said, "Well, I guess I better get up there. I'm sure he's waiting for me."

She turned to walk up the stairs when Sabrina called, "Wait!" The older girl bounced up to her and said, "I'll walk you up there. You gotta hear the rest of this." She took a deep breath to gather her courage. This was going to be difficult.

"What I tell you from now on is very private. You cannot repeat this to anyone. Got that? _Anyone_." Mitchie nodded.

"A year and a half ago, Nate was rushed to a Dallas hospital while on tour. Shane and Jason noticed that he had become extremely thin and irritable. Two days later, he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. I was supposed to be there but I never showed up. I was in New York auditioning for another musical. I didn't get the part and by the time I received any messages regarding Nate's condition he had been released and was already back on the road.

"Six months later Shane called me. He chewed me out then asked me to fly to Jersey—our home state. Shane had gotten into trouble and they couldn't get Nate to calm down. So I hopped on my first 747 completely ignoring my parents' protests and headed to Wyckoff.

"When I got there, Nate's blood sugar levels were really low and he was pacing and yelling and ranting. He was shaking." Sabrina shuddered. "I never want to relive that again.

"Anyway, Melinda and Derek didn't know what to do-he had just been diagnosed and they were confused, nothing like that had ever happened to him before-and Shane and Jason didn't want him to hurt himself and they didn't want to get hurt.

"As soon as I walked in he froze on spot. I started talking to him, we got him some juice, and he calmed down but not before he screamed at me for betraying him."

Mitchie looked at her with a questioning expression plastered on her face.

"I made a promise to him to be there when he needed me," she replied to the implied question. "Not showing up when he was in the hospital constituted a betrayal in his eyes. It was the end to our relationship. He was devastated and so was I."

They stopped.

"You're the only one from the outside who knows about any of this."

They had reached the window. It was already opened and the Santa Ana winds were whipping through the trees rustling the leaves and making the night air warm and crisp. Mitchie sighed contently and closed her eyes. Her hair twisted around her face and she thought _I could get used to this_.

"There's Shane."

Mitchie opened her eyes and her gaze followed where Sabrina was pointing. Standing a few feet in front of her was Shane. His straight black hair moved delicately in the wind. His arms were spread out beside him in a very "I'm King of the World" kind of way. She smiled widely then turned back to Sabrina.

"You'll tell me the rest of the story-the _real_ story-tomorrow, right?"

The older girl quirked an eyebrow. "You're good," she said. "Tomorrow, I promise."

Mitchie grinned then walked out onto the black shingles leaving Sabrina behind on the last step of the stairs. Sabrina's shoulders slumped in relief. The worst was over. She wouldn't have to lie anymore. After tomorrow, at least one more person besides Jason would know her little secret. She scoffed. Little? Her secret was anything _but_ little. She shook her head and began her descent down the stairs.

"What was that all about?"

She reached the end of the staircase and Jason was sitting and strumming his guitar on the bottom step. "I told Mitchie," she replied plopping down beside him.

"_You did what?_"

Though Jason seemed ditzy and innocent to a lot of people, his band mates included, he really was very smart. He had seen too much and heard too much growing up to make him that oblivious. It was just a front he put up to keep the media out of their lives. She appreciated him for that.

"I didn't tell her that." She waved off his concern. "I told her about me and Nate."

"You _lied_?"

"She asked!" Brina exclaimed.

"You offered!" Jason countered.

She groaned and lifted herself up off the makeshift seat. "I'm going to bed. Jason, someone has to know. I trust Mitchie. She won't tell him."

He got up as well and put his hands on her shoulders. "When you get worse-"

"You'll have another person to stay by my side. I promised her I would tell her. Tomorrow. You can be there if you want."

"If Nate finds out about this…" He trailed off.

"He won't, but, Jason, some day soon, I'll have to tell him. He deserves the truth after all these years-after all the lies."

"I hope you're right about this."

"Don't you know? I'm always right."

With that final quip, Sabrina whipped around with a twirl of her hair and walked back to her room leaving a very skeptical Jason behind to ponder the outcome of tomorrow.


	5. Come Closer

_**Disclaimer:** Disney, the multibillion dollar corporation that used to be awesome and is now just mediocre, owns the Jonas Brothers and Camp Rock. (Camp Rock and JB aren't mediocre though :D) Sabrina, however, belongs to me!_

_Everything else you need to know is of course in the first chapter. Thanks to all my reviewers! Thanks for reading and telling me what you think of my story. I really appreciate it! Also, another big round of applause to my lovely beta Krys. She's awesome!_

And now, onto the show!!

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**Chapter 5: April Rain**

The TV in the living room droned out an old movie and she could hear it from her bedroom with the door closed. She could hear Melinda, Derek, Tess, and Jason's musical laughter entwine with the events of what was more than likely _Singing in the Rain_. It was Jason's favorite movie of all time. While she liked Gene Kelly she was more of a Frank Sinatra kind of person. So was Nate. She slapped her head with the palm of her hand and sighed. She needed to stop this. She needed to stop thinking of him. When he kissed her earlier, it really screwed her up. Now, even though he hadn't come out of his room all day, she was seeing him everywhere and hearing him all the time. It was driving her crazy!

Sabrina kicked the covers off of her and discarded the notebook she had been writing in. She had every intention of joining the party when a knock echoed softly through her quiet room. She knew it wasn't Jason because she could still hear him over the movie. Mitchie was still with Shane, so, that only left…Nate. She looked toward the door apprehensively. Did she really want to open it? A knock sounded again and she had no choice. She walked up, turned the door knob, and swung the door opened. Nate, still with his basket ball shorts and tank top on, stood in front of her. He looked as nervous as she felt. He stepped inside and she closed the door behind him.

"It's 'raining' Gene Kelly downstairs," he said trying to strike up a conversation.

"What do you want, Nate?" She asked in a tone that was harsher than she expected. "You kiss me, yell at me to get out of your room, and now you're in here acting as if nothing ever happened."

He shrugged. "I don't know why I'm here, honestly. I just wanted to see you."

"You've seen me, now get out!" She exclaimed pointing towards the door he had just walked through.

"Wait, can we talk about today?"Nate sat down on her bed.

"About which part? The living room, the bedroom, or the kiss?"

"All three?"

She sighed and plopped down beside him. Jason's uproarious laughter cut through the silence. They both smiled. One thing they could agree on was his laughter was infectious. It never failed to bring a smile to anyone's face. Once the situation in front of them was remembered, however, grins faded and Nate and Sabrina turned to look at each other.

"Living room first. What was going through your head?"

"How much I hated you," he replied automatically. He cringed. That wasn't exactly what he wanted to say.

"Oh," she whispered.

"What about you?"

"What about the bedroom?" She asked, steering the conversation away from what she had felt at that moment. "Did you know it was me at the door?"

He nodded and then said, "You avoided the question. What was going through _your _head in the living room?"

Sabrina groaned and jumped off the bed. She was pacing now. A thousand and one thoughts pranced across her mind. What would she say? Should she tell him the truth? But why tell him the truth when he knew so many lies already? What was one more lie to add to the list? She stopped pacing. _The truth; start with the truth,_ she thought. He deserved at least that much.

"How much I loved you." Brina watched as Nate blinked in astonishment.

"You still-"

"Love you? Yes. I always have and I probably always will."

"But why did you never show up at the hospital, Bri? I needed you." She could hear the desperation and anger in his voice. "You didn't even call!" His voice rose.

Her face hardened. "I'm not arguing with you Nate. Besides, I already told you. I was in New York. By the time I found out you were on the road again."

"It doesn't take two days for a text message to get from Texas to New York." His voice rose again and he got up off the bed.

They stood in front of each other, sizing each other up. The animosity from earlier that day resurfaced and all she really wanted to do was slap him then grab his shirt sleeves and pull him into a kiss. Her emotions were getting the better of her. She hated that feeling. It was almost as if she wasn't in control of her body; of her heart. It bugged the crap out of her, but she was more angry than anything else and the staring continued. They couldn't think of anything to say; they didn't move from their position in the middle of the room.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, Sabrina blinked and turned away from him.

"Why did you kiss me?" she was shaking, trying to keep the fury bottled inside of her. "Why did you do that to me? Were you _trying_ to be mean? Tell me, Nate. I want to know!"

So much for not arguing, Nate thought.

"I kissed you in the heat of the moment. It meant nothing. _Happy_?" He spat. Blood rose in his face, his cheeks flushing red with anger.

"Of course I'm not happy, Nate!" She yelled. The talking downstairs quieted. Now the whole house-save for Mitchie and Shane-knew they were fighting…again. She sighed. "Why would I be? You know-I-just leave. Just go!"

"Sabrina," he whispered. He walked up to her and put a hand on her arm. She shrugged it off and crossed her arms across her chest. "Fine!" He yelled. "You wanted to know why I came here. I came to apologize but I see there's no use in that!"

"Fine! Be that way." He walked out the door but she was still talking. "Be the same old Nate," she exclaimed following him down the hall. "All you're concerned with is schedule this, schedule that. You never had any time for me why should I have had time for you?"

He froze and spun around. They were on the stair case now and the whole scene was being played out in front of the occupants in the living room. The movie had long been paused so they could hear what was being said. Nosy family, Sabrina mused.

"I never had time for you?"

"That's right! You were always too busy writing the next Connect 3 hit song or practicing your Goddamn guitar!"

"What about you, huh? You were always preoccupied with Broadway and singing!"

"Those were dreams I shared with you! Remember? You were on Broadway once, or have you forgotten in the midst of all of the publicity?"

"No I haven't forgotten, nor have I forgotten walking in on you Shane making out. In _my_ room, I should add."

"Oh come on, Nate really? You were never jealous then. Why are you jealous now?"

"I'm not jealous!"

She rolled her eyes. "Bullshit you're not. You wouldn't have brought it up if you weren't!"

His eyes narrowed. He opened his mouth to say something but decided it against it. Brina took the opportunity to tear into him. It was one of her specialties and she prided herself in it—even though it probably wasn't the best thing to be proud of.

"Typical," she scoffed. "The same old Nate." He began his decent down the stairs again. She followed still. "He never admits to anything. He runs away from his problems. You're just a shell, Nate. You don't care, as long as you sell records, you're fine." She paused. "Oh come on, Nate. Are you just going to let some punk ass girl walk all over you?" She paused, again. She wasn't getting the response she wanted. She thought for a second then came up with something she _knew_ would get him going. "Oh and here's another thing; when you fall, you fall hard, and you fall fast and you never forget. Maybe I should get that Caitlyn girl over here to give you a good time. Maybe then you'd loosen up."

That did it. Nate whipped around and was in Sabrina's face in a heartbeat. Brina heard Melinda gasp but she was more focused on the very, very, _very_ angry boy in front of her. Flashbacks from that fateful day in Wyckoff came rushing back to her but she held her ground and for once didn't let her emotions get the better of her.

"About time," she retorted.

"_How dare you_."

"How dare I what? How dare I call you out? Someone needed to." Brina relaxed a little though the anger and sarcasm was still close to the surface. She reached out and put a hand on Nate's arm. To her surprise, he didn't shake it off. "You don't have to be guarded all the time. That's my job. Remember? I'm the one that keeps the world away." She gave him a small smile.

Nate looked down at his feet. She was right but one thing still bothered him.

"But, you made out with _Shane_. Again, in my room. He's my _brother_."

She shrugged nonchalantly. "Yeah, well, it's all in the past."

He silenced. After a few moments he asked, "Did you like it?"

Brina's eyes widened. "Excuse me?"

"Did you like it…when he kissed you like that?"

Brina was suddenly very conscious of the four people staring at them from the couch in the living room. Her eyes widened again and she grabbed Nate by the shoulders and led him back up the stairs.

"We are _not_ talking about this out in the open."

They reached her room-the same room she was sharing with Mitchie-and she pushed him inside. She slammed the door shut then stared at him with a mischievous glint in her eyes. He was curious, which struck her as odd but she didn't care. It was a step back in the direction of their previous relationship though their previous relationship had been very un-physical. Sure they held hands and such but a peck on the cheek was about as far as they had gone. Today they had kissed on the lips once and now it seemed like he was implying more. _This_ was definitely a new development. However, he had never been the Nate his band mates knew around her. He was different. At least he had been until she stood him up. She rolled her eyes.

"Well?"

She blushed. "Why do you want to know?"

"So I can do this."

In three large strides he was in front of her. He pushed her up against the door and for the second time that day, his lips collided with hers. His hands roamed up and down her torso. She moaned sending vibrations through them both. She suddenly felt like she couldn't keep herself standing but he wouldn't let her fall. His hands locked on her hips holding her up. She threw her arms around his neck and ran her fingers through his thick brown hair. His tongue languidly brushed her closed lips seeking permission to enter and she accepted, opening her mouth just enough for him to get through. She sighed. It was heaven.


	6. When the Stars Go Blue

**Disclaimer:**_Haha, you're tripping if you think I own Camp Rock, Demi Lovatto _and _the Jonas Brothers cause uh, I don't. I do however own Sabrina and the plot. That's about it though._

**A/N:**_ OMG!!! I am sooooo sorry guys. Life is being a bitch at the moment. I've been sick so I've been trying to catch up on all my school work so writing has taken a backseat. On the plus side, I finally got over my horrendous case of writer's block! yay me! Chapter 7 should be up soon. just gotta finish it then I'll give it to my beta and viola! :D Thanks for being paitent with me._

_okay, you know the drill. everything else is in the first chapter. I would, however, like to give a shout out to my (new) lovely beta Paige. You're great hun! I would also like to give a shoutout to my other beta Krys. She's no longer editing for me but she helped bring this story to life and I am eternally grateful. :D love you guys! you're amazing!_

_also, to the readers. Thank you again, for being paitent with me. Hope you guys enjoy this next chapter! Things are gonna get good from here! I promise! Please, R & R! :D_

_Now, on with the show!_

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**Chapter 6: When the Stars Go Blue **

"You get lost?" Shane questioned when he saw Mitchie walk through the skylight and up to him.

She laughed. "Hey, it's a big house." She shrugged. "Sabrina helped me though."

He perked up. "Sabrina? I thought she would've high tailed it out of here after the little incident in the living room today."

Mitchie shook her head. "No. In fact, she's staying here for the holidays."

"Nate is okay with this?" He asked hoping she knew the answer.

"I'm not sure. She told me what happened between them though."

Shane outwardly cringed. "What did you think?"

"Is Shane Gray nervous?"

He put on his best confident face and shook his head. "Shane Gray, nervous? Never." The shield dropped briefly. "What did she tell you?"

"Everything," she purred coming closer to him. He quirked an eyebrow something he did when he was anxious. Mitchie knew it was one of his little ticks. _I could _so_ beat him in poker,_ she mused then added, "I think she lied though."

"Sabrina, lie? It's not possible. It's, like, written in her genes or something."

"I don't know, Shane. She's hiding something."

They sat down on the coal black shingles in unison and stared up at the stars twinkling above the bright city lights. Mitchie could hear the honks and drone of the traffic. Just like New York, Los Angeles was a city that never slept and Mitchie appreciated it. After a few moments, she blocked out the city and focused on Shane and the nature around her. The crickets chirped out a little melody and the birds chirped in harmony. She turned to Shane. His eyes were closed and the wind still played at his black hair. She could hear his breathing and it soothed the butterflies rustling around in her stomach. She didn't know why she was nervous but she was. She grinned. Leaning back into Shane's chest, she closed her eyes as well and let her apprehensions slip away. She was happy but some part of her deep in the back of her mind was worried about tomorrow and what Sabrina was going to tell her.

Shane shifted positions carefully trying not to startle Mitchie, when she suddenly looked up at him. He smiled and laced his fingers with hers. She was struck by the kind gesture. It felt good to be in his arms. He placed a small kiss on the top of her hair and rested his cheek on her head.

"Comfortable?" He murmured.

She reached for his free arm and brought it around her waist. "Now I am."

"Brave girl."

She giggled softly. "I'm _your_ brave girl." She reached up, cupped his face with her hand and kissed him gently. She felt him tense up and she backed away hastily. "Oh, I'm sorry," she promptly apologized. "That was too fast."

She kept babbling. He placed a finger on her lips and she stopped talking. She looked into his chocolate brown eyes searching for an answer. What was he thinking? What was he going to say? She averted her eyes in embarrassment. She shouldn't have done that. _Stupid, stupid, _stupid_ move Mitchie,_ she thought, _real smooth._

"Hey," he whispered. With the same finger that was on her lips, he lifted her chin up to face him. "Why are you beating yourself up?"

She blinked. "How did you-?"

"I could practically see the gears in your head spinning." He kissed her forehead before he continued. "It surprised me. That's all."

"Shy little Mitchie Torres making a leap huh?"

He chuckled. "Pretty much."

"Well, I didn't mean to scare you."

The chatter died down until all that was left were the crickets and the birds and Shane's breathing. Mitchie wanted to be brave again but she was stopped by a large yawn. She grinned tiredly and leaned back against Shane once more. The last thing she remembered before slipping into unconsciousness was Shane's lips on hers.

She awoke to the smell of eggs and bacon and the sound of Sabrina's iPod blaring out lyrics to a song she knew but couldn't place. She stretched and yawned. She turned over and found that she was still in her clothes from yesterday and she was all tangled up in her sheets. She groaned. It took her a few minutes before she was completely free of all sheets and other fabric. She quickly changed into a t-shirt and black skirt before walking over to the other side of the room. Under multiple layers of blankets and stuffed animals was a very much asleep Sabrina. Though the sun was beating on her face she was still completely oblivious. Mitchie accounted it to the fact her music was up full blast and her head was nearly under a blanket. She shook her head.

"Sabrina," she said quietly. She gently nudged her. She had never woken anyone up before and she hoped Brina wasn't a monstrous morning person. "Sabrina…"

The older girl grumbled and shoved her head under her pillow. "What time is it?" She asked her voice muddled with sleep and muted from the pillow.

"Nine thirty." Brina grumbled again. "It smells like Mrs. Gray is making breakfast." She turned over and pulled her blankets higher over her head.

There was a knock on the door. "Mom made pancakes, eggs, bacon and sausage. If you guys want any you might want to come down before Jason and Shane wake up." Nate's wide awake voice filtered through the room.

Mitchie nudged Sabrina one last time. The older girl sat up and stretched. Her brunette hair was tussled and sticking out at odd angles. She tore her ear phones out of her ears, yawned, and then looked at Mitchie.

"What happened to you last night?"

Mitchie blushed. "I was with Shane, you knew that."

"No, I mean, he carried you in here last night. Did you pass out from his devilishly charming good looks?"

She laughed. "I fell asleep. Time changes suck." She walked to the door. "Are you going to let the boys eat all the food?"

Sabrina's stomach rumbled. "Let me change. I'll be down there in a minute."

Mitchie made her way to the dining room where Nate, Melinda, Derek, and Tess were all congregated around the various plates of food. She licked her lips. She sat down beside Nate who leaned closer to her.

"Is Sabrina awake?" She nodded. "She's hell to get up in the morning. How did you manage?"

"I think you had a hand in it actually," she replied.

A few minutes later, Brina stumbled into the dining room with Jason and Shane right behind her. Shane looked like he was about to kill someone and Jason was a space cadet with a goofy grin on his face. Mitchie laughed at the sight of all three of them. They all sat down - Shane by Mitchie, Sabrina on the other side of Nate, and Jason by Tess - and proceeded to eat. Conversation was very little but they all enjoyed each other's company. Mitchie glanced over toward Jason and Tess on more than one occasion and found that Tess looked truly interested in what Jason was whispering into her ear. She also noticed the not so subtle under the table hand holding the pair was doing. She grinned and shook her head.

Once Nate was finished eating, he arose from the table and addressed his fellow band mates. "I know we're on vacation here and I know we have three very important guests but we have an album to finish and publicity for our new tour. If you guys don't mind, I was wondering if we could head to the studio today and hammer out a few new songs before Thanksgiving."

Shane groaned. "But I want to spend the day with Mitchie," he whined sounding more like a six year old kid than a nineteen year old pop star.

"I'll keep her entertained." Sabrina winked at Mitchie. No one else caught the gesture but the sixteen year old brunette knew what was meant by it.

Shane pouted again but didn't say anything else about it. An hour later Mitchie and Sabrina were the only ones left at the mansion. Melinda and Derek had gone early Christmas shopping and at the word "shopping", Tess was attached to their hips in a heart beat. Mitchie enjoyed the quiet. It was peaceful. It was…just like home. She grinned and looked over at Sabrina. She was sitting across from her on her bed and Sabrina was on her own bed with Nate's guitar on her lap. She had an affectionate glint in her eyes and it was then Mitchie knew just how much Brina was in love with Nate.

"Are you going to play anything?"

Brina snapped to attention, startled by the sudden noise. "Huh?" Mitchie gestured to the guitar. "Oh, what do you want to hear?"

Mitchie shrugged. "What do you know?"

"Everything," she laughed and began to play the opening of _Hello Beautiful_. "This was mine and Nate's song.

"_Hello beautiful, how's it going? I hear it's wonderful in California. I've been missing you, it's true. But tonight I'm gonna fly. Yeah tonight, I'm gonna fly. Cause I could comb across the world and see everything and never be satisfied if I couldn't see those eyes…_"

Brina wrapped up the song and ad-libbed the ending chords from what Mitchie could tell. She hadn't heard that song in a long time and it was one of her favorites from the old sound Connect 3 used to have. Both girls smiled.

"Nate wrote that for you?"

Brina nodded. "He sure did. It was pretty cool hearing it for the first time. I wish I hadn't have been so stupid." She muttered the last part.

"Speaking of which," Mitchie piped up. "You owe me a story."

"I do, don't I?" She sat Nate's guitar down. "The first part of what I told you last night was true. I met Shane and Nate at Camp Rock; we became friends, yada, yada, yada. I have been on Broadway and Nate really was in the hospital in Dallas. He really has diabetes and I wasn't there. What happened in Jersey is true too. Only Shane didn't really 'get in trouble.'"

"What?"

Sabrina's face crinkled up in thought. She tossed a few possible explanations around in her head quickly but came up with no better way to say what happened next. She sighed.

"I…I di-didn't ha-have to f-fly to Jersey that day. I was already there." She grimaced. "I was actually already in their house when everything went…wrong."

"You were?" Mitchie asked doubtfully.

"Yeah, uh, I was…" She looked at Mitch. Mitch just starred back. _This sucks,_ Brina thought and groaned. "Nate…" she rolled her eyes. "Damnit, look, the reason why Nate was so mad was because he caught me and Shane in his room making out. There. I said it. Happy?" Mitchie starred blinking at Sabrina, disbelief was written all over her face. "Nah, you're probably not happy, actually. Umm, at least you know the truth, right? That's what you wanted." Mitchie didn't break her gaze. "This is awkward," Sabrina breathed. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to tell you that but you asked. Nate didn't feel betrayed because I didn't show up to the hospital. He felt betrayed because I cheated on him – once - with his own brother." She bit her bottom lip. "You're not angry are you?"

After a moment Mitchie said, "No, I'm not. I'm just…shocked? I really don't know how I feel. How old were you?"

"Shane was eighteen and I was sixteen."

"Wow. You were the beginning of his downfall, weren't you?"

"Oh, see, when you put it like that…" She trailed off. Finally she nodded and gave in. "Yeah, I was. I don't like to look at it like that, though."

"Really? How do you like to look at it then?"

"Not like that!" She exclaimed. "I don't know. I guess I see it as a mistake that led to something more. It's something that I'll never do again. I ruined a lot of lives that day. But look at this way, if I hadn't have kissed Shane, you would have never met him."

Mitchie nodded. "There's still something bothering me, though."

Sabrina perked up. "What do you mean?"

Mitchie got up off her bed and moseyed over to Sabrina's. The older girl moved over and watched as the younger one sat down.

"Why did you not go to Dallas?"

"I knew you were gonna ask that," she whispered.

_The truth; tell her the truth,_ she thought. The truth? She couldn't tell the truth. Not now. Mitchie had already been bombarded by enough in the past five minutes. She wasn't going to do that to her. It wasn't right. Sabrina sighed. The only problem with her choice was she had run out of lies to tell. Broadway was her fallback and she had already used that excuse. For the second time she thought, _this sucks._ What to say? What to say? She racked her brain but came up with nothing.

Suddenly a thought came to her. "I didn't go to Dallas because I was here, in California. I was visiting relatives. My parents are divorced and my dad was getting remarried." It wasn't a complete lie. Her parents were divorced but they were still together. It was an odd family dynamic.

"California, huh?" Mitchie asked still skeptical.

"Yup, California."

Sabrina's cell phone rang suddenly. She shot off the bed and grabbed it from the dresser by the closet.

"Hello?"

"Hey my sweet baby sister."

_It's Jason;_ she mouthed to Mitchie then said, "Hey Jay! How's Nate treating you? You boys aren't working too hard are you?"

Mitchie heard him laugh. "Nope. We're just hanging out. Actually, Nate wants to talk to you."

"Give him the phone then."

There was a change of hands and then Nate's chipper voice crackled out of the ear piece. Sabrina put the phone on speaker and greeted him.

"Hi Bri. Listen, do you and Mitchie want to come down to the studio?"

"Shane put you up to this didn't he?" Mitchie asked.

"He didn't believe it or not. He's in the booth right now. I'm helping with the mixing. Anyway, we're having a trouble on our duets and I was wondering if you wanted to help."

"I can't believe they haven't found someone for you to work with."

"I can't either. To be honest though, I'd rather you two help than outsiders. You know the stories better than anyone else."

This got the girls interested. "Sure," they replied in unison. "We'll come."

"Excellent!" Mitchie and Sabrina heard Jason exclaim on the other line. They laughed.

"Great, we'll see you soon?"

Mitchie had already laced up her converses and was pulling on a light jacket when Sabrina looked over at her. "We're heading out the door now."

"All right. Talk to you later."

"Bye Nate."

They hung up. Sabrina quickly pulled on her shoes, grabbed her car keys and then she and Mitchie ran down the stairs and out the door. Before they pulled out of the driveway, Sabrina sent a quick text to Melinda and Derek telling them where they were going and then they were off. It was a nice day so Brina lowered the top on her shiny, red, Mustang Convertible and Mitchie turned the volume on the radio up so the speakers were thumping. They turned to each other and smiled. Everything that had been said and 'revealed' was behind them and they were friends. _Until I tell her what _really_ happened,_ Sabrina thought.

She shook her head. Today was going to be a good day and she wasn't going to ruin it.


	7. Don't Let Go

**Disclaimer:**_ Kevin is married. Joe is dating Demi....Hmmm, where does that leave me? Not with Nick obviously because he still has a thing for Miley...or is it Selena? Anywho, that doesn't matter because I don't own anything just the plot and Sabrina. _

**A/N:**_ OMG!!! I am sooooo sorry guys. Life is still being a bitch. I have about nine weeks left of High school and then it's off to college. :( sad days. Anyway, this is unbeta-ed simply because I don't have word on my computer and for some reason Paige is having problems opening what I send her...fail. So, please ignore my glaring grammar mistakes and such. Thanks! Oh also, I still have writer's block but I just wanted to post this for you. Who know's when Chapter 8 will be up. Gotta graduate. Maybe over spring break I'll have a burst of inspiration. You never know._

_okay, you know the drill. everything else is in the first chapter. I would, however, like to give a shout out to my lovely beta Paige. You're great hun! I would also like to give a shoutout to my other beta Krys. She's no longer editing for me but she helped bring this story to life and I am eternally grateful. :D love you guys! you're amazing!_

_also, to the readers. Thank you again, for being paitent with me. Hope you guys enjoy this next chapter! Things are gonna get interesting from here! I promise! Please, R & R! :D Sorry it's so short. had a non burst of inspiration lol_

_Now, back to the show!_

* * *

**Chapter 7: Don't Let Go**

They arrived at Imagine studios thirty minutes after they had left the Gray mansion. They had managed to escape some of the paparazzi who were camped out in front of the house and they also managed to escape most of the horrendous L.A. traffic. Sabrina, having lived there her whole life, knew all the back roads and short cuts. Before they had pulled up in into the studio parking lot, Mitchie had suggested getting food for lunch. They didn't know how long they would be there and already both girls' stomachs were growling.

With the bags of Subway in their hands, Mitchie and Sabrina simultaneously slammed the doors to Brina's Mustang and walked into the studio. They climbed three flights of stairs, conversation flowing easily between them. Sabrina quit talking when she heard music coming from one of the many rooms.

"I thought sound booths were sound proofed," Mitchie said as they stopped in front of the booming room.

Brina shook her head. "Not this one. It's inverted. It's mostly for messing around. There's a proofed booth behind this one. We'll move into that one later."

She opened the door for the younger girl then followed her inside. The boys saw them automatically and rushed up to them. Each one had something in their hands. Nate was holding his drum sticks, Jason was holding his guitar and Shane was holding…Sabrina wasn't sure what Shane was holding but regardless, they mobbed the girls and in a flurry of hands and clear plastic bags, the food was distributed. Sabrina was left with one bag when all was said and done but the person it belonged to was no where to be seen.

She watched as Mitchie went to sit and eat with Shane and she suddenly felt so alone. Sure, she could sit with Jason but her gaze kept falling onto Nate. She took a step in his direction fully intent on maybe making peace with him when the person who the food belonged to walked into the room. Leslie Mann, Connect 3's manager, was tall, lanky and pale. She was Irish with a slight accent and long red hair. As the boy's manager, she had embraced their desire to change their sound and had made the best of it. She had the boy's best interest in mind. Bri smirked and went up behind the woman.

She tapped her on the shoulder and said, "Vegetarian foot long on Italian Herbs and Cheese bread with no mayonnaise." She dangled the bag in front of Leslie's face.

The red head screeched, whipped around to face Bri, then hugged her tightly.

"Sabrina Anderson! You remembered!" They broke apart. "How're you my dear?"

"I'm peachy keen. How are you?"

"Stressed as Hell, darling. We need duets for the new CD and Nate's in a rut. Shane has his done but his brother," she shook her head; "he's got nothing."

Bri put a hand on Lee's shoulder. "That's why we're here. Nate called me and Mitchie and told us they needed help. Apparently we're gonna sing on the album."

"I have wanted to hear you sing for forever and every time I asked, you said no. What made you change your mind?"

Sabrina's eyes fell on Nate who saw her then waved her into the booth.

"That boy right there." She motioned to Nate then walked to the door and opened it.

"Hey, Sabrina?"

She turned around. "Yes?"

"He's a nice kid. Don't hurt him again. You guys are good for each other."

She smiled. "I know." Then she walked into the booth.

Shane and Mitchie were still eating and Jason was strumming on his bass. Nate took her hand and led her into the room behind the one they were already in. Of course he was already finished with his food and he was ready to put his nose to the grindstone.

He shut the door behind her and sat down on the stool that was in front of the microphone.

She suddenly felt really nervous. "I've never written a song before."

"I know," was his simple answer.

She blinked. "Then why did you ask me to come?"

"Because I wanted you here." He grinned then motioned her closer. "This is all I have so far. What do you think?" Sitting on the stand in front of him was a big piece of note book paper half full with writing.

She pulled up another stool beside him and sat down and looked at the song. "What is it called?"

"'Don't Let Go'."

"Do you have the backing track?"

He nodded. "Want to hear it?" She grinned. "I usually don't do the music before I have the words but this just came to me."

Music suddenly filled the small room. It was soft at first but as it crescendo, Nate looked as if he was preparing to sing. Her gaze fell onto the paper. Emotions raced inside of her. She was close enough to feel the heat radiating from his skin. She could hear his quiet humming and her heart was pounding wildly against her chest. All the feelings she though she had lost came rushing back to her as Nate began the first stanza of the song.

"_I can't believe this moment's come. It's so incredible that we're alone. There's so much to be said and done; it's impossible not to be overcome_."

She came in quickly when she realized it was her part. "_Will you forgive me if I feel this way?_"

"_Cause we just met--_"

They both harmonized easily as the lyrics he had written ended with, "_Tell me that's okay._"

The music died and it was then Sabrina fully remembered where she was. She had lost herself in the moment and the music and she realized she was sitting beside the boy of her dreams, singing a song that spoke of her emotions perfectly.

"That's all I have," he said after a long pause.

Her eyebrows knitted together. She hummed the melody she had heard before the song was shut off, slowly and deliberately. She grabbed the pencil that was sitting on the stand and began scratching out the basis of her lyrics. They were simple and that's what she wanted, simple.

_So take this feeling  
Make it grow  
Never let it  
Never let it…_

He suddenly took the pencil from her and made a few corrections. He added who sung what and what should happen. He also added a few lyrics and before she knew it, over half the song was finished. She wasn't sure if she had contributed or if she had just starred at him. She was sure she had just starred; watched as his hand moved over the paper, his brown eyes focused and glittering with ideas. His silky smooth humming reached her ears and she saw he had stopped. The pencil hovered over the paper almost shaking with anticipation. Nate's face suddenly scrunched in frustration. The chorus was done as was the second stanza but she could tell something was missing.

"May I?" He handed over the pencil. "How about this?

"_I've been waiting all my life to make this moment feel so right. The feel of you just fills the night, so, come on let's just hold on tight_."

A big grin slowly spread across his lips. "Perfect."

He leaned it to kiss her when the door suddenly slammed opened and Shane, Mitchie, and Jason all walked in, Leslie following close behind.

"Oy, will you two lovebirds get a room?"

Sabrina couldn't help but laugh as she turned to look at the red head. The laugh caught in her throat when she felt Nate's warm fingers entwine with hers. She blinked and returned her gaze to the boy beside her. She knew everyone's attention was on them. She didn't care. They were probably as shocked as she was. Nate's eyes locked onto hers and she felt his other hand reach up to touch her face. She could feel the calluses on his finger tips from the years of guitar playing. She could feel the way his palm molded around her chin and cheek perfectly. She closed her eyes as he drug his hand down her neck and around to grip the back of her hair. Then, with everyone staring at them slack jawed, he pulled her toward him and kissed her. She crushed into his body perfectly, with every curve of her fitting into every contour of his. She grinned into his soft lips and, as quickly as it started, it ended. They broke apart easily, her chest heaving as she panted for breath. She heard him sigh contently and finally, she opened her eyes.

He rested his forehead on hers. "We had a room, Leslie." With his forehead still on hers, he turned to face his manager. "We had one until you decided to show up." He smiled.

The shocked tension dissipated as they all laughed.

Mitchie and Shane were to use the booth first. Their song was a total pop song with an acoustic twist. Brina liked it. She found herself on more than one occasion tapping her feet to the beat and swaying to the rythmn. She also found herself staring more and more at Nate. She wasn't sure what this little development meant to their relationship as a whole. She also didn't know how this would change everything in the long run. She sighed and decided to not dwell on the situation. She felt Jason's hands on her shoulders, suddenly, and turned to meet his eyes. She jumped when she saw a hint of pain flicker across his face.

"Jay, hon, are you okay?"

He shook his head and motioned for her to follow him. She nodded. After quickly and quietly excusing herself, she met Jason in the hall.

"What's wrong?" She asked panic rising in her voice.

"I think," he winced, "that sub didn't settle well." An attempted laugh faded into a shudder. "Can you just tell the guys I'll be at home?"

He turned to walk off.

"Hey," he stopped and faced his sister again. "Do you need me to go with you?"

"No," he replied quickly. "I'll be fine. Go ahead and record with Nate. Have fun. Don't worry about me."

With that, he spun on his heel and headed out of the building. A feeling of unease jolted through her but she shook it off. _It's my _job_ to worry,_ she thought as she made her way back into the room. She took a moment to muse about what she would tell Leslie and the guys but she forgot about it when she returned and it was her and Nate's turn to sing. She'd never had stage fright before, so when she felt butterflies begin to flutter in her stomach, she was very surprised.

"Are you ready for this?" Nate whispered as he put his earphones on.

She nodded and shakily followed suit. The music began and she opened her mouth to sing.


End file.
